A Little Hotel in Cornwall

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Struggling American waitress and aspiring novelist Maisie Clark dreams of becoming a full-time writer — even though in real life she’s just lost her chance at an exclusive writer’s mentorship program that would give her novel its big break. Desperate, she decides to take a chance and ask her favourite writer, a celebrated but reclusive English novelist, to help her find a second chance.

When she receives the author’s reply in an envelope with a Cornish postmark, Maisie decides not to take the writer’s half-hearted ‘no’ for an answer. With nothing to lose, she takes off for the author’s last known location, a beautiful hotel on Cornwall’s western coast. But when the hotel mistakes her for the latest applicant for a maid’s position, Maisie finds herself given an opportunity too good to lose … and a chance for a summer adventure far bigger than she ever imagined.Surrounded by breathtaking Cornwall and working in an elegant hotel, Maisie’s world becomes one of secret identities, quirky friends, and unintentional mishaps — and despite reminders of past relationship disasters, a certain handsome, charming local resident Sidney Daniels has her conflicted about her heart’s desires, too.

Community Review

And when I opened its cover and read the first page, I began a passionate love affair with its words. I fell into that story and didn’t come up for air. I drowned in its world for three whole days and came back to life after the last sentence, a little part of me wishing I was still there.
He pretended to flex his muscles beneath the sleeves of his jacket. “Please, I haven’t eaten lunch yet,” said the other one. “Your muscles will remind me of hard-boiled eggs.”
I was going to have to ring the antique bell on the desk, which I hated doing — there’s something so impatient about ringing service bells. That annoying little peal that has two tones — ‘come now’ and ‘still waiting.’
My Review:
This quick and wryly written novella starts off a twisty new Laura Briggs Cornwall rom-com series. I’m curious to see where this story goes as I’ve already started postulating theories. Ms. Briggs introduces a colorful cast of quirky characters on both continents. The main character of Maisie’s situation has become rather dire and she has turned into a total fraud, which gave me pause but the deception wasn’t her initial intention, although she did conveniently step right into it without much hesitation. Maisie had moxie – I’ll give her that

A Little Hotel in Cornwall is the beginning of a new series of novellas that promise to be delightful!
I loved the fact that romance somewhat took a back seat in this book. This was the beginning of Maisie’s journey in discovering who she is and what direction she wants her life to go in. She is also quite likeable with a great sense of humor. I’m really looking forward to getting to know her better in future books.
This is a novella, but the writer didn’t leave anything out. Instead of short-changing her readers, she takes her time in developing the story and makes me really anticipate the next book in the series. On to top it off, she is a fabulous writer who wields magic with her words!!!!

This was my three year olds favorite book for months and months. He was just mesmerized with the life of the cactus from seed to skeleton.
This book is called Cactus Hotel, but it deals primarily with the life of a cactus. Many animals and plants of the desert are identified in this book as they interact with the cactus, but the cactus doesn’t become a hotel until past the midpoint of the book. It’s not the central point of the book, but it is a delightful part! We love looking in all the holes of the cactus and naming the animal or insect within.

This is a nice picturebook introduction to desert ecologies, viewed through the life cycle of the gigantic saguaro cactus, which lives primarily in Mexico and parts of Arizona. Saguaros grow slowly and can live to be as old as 200 years or more, and as they grow larger they provide shelter for a variety of animals, notably several types of birds. This is a great nature book for kids – the writing and illustrations are clear and straightforward, and there are lots of interesting facts, including stuff that most adults won’t know, either. Recommended! (DJ Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain children’s book reviews)

I picked this up at an Arizona Airport for my kids, and we’ve all been enchanted by it. The illustrations are gorgeous, the text simple and accessible. Cactus hotel is the story of a single saguarno cactus throughout its 200 year life-span, as it grows from a seed into a towering cactus that is home to dozens of animals, and then topples and dies, still providing shelter to small desert animals before it returns to dust. My children and I will never look at a cactus the same way again!
This is a perfect book to read during a study of deserts. In fact, I think the author and illustrator should team up and make a whole series of books about various ecosystems, just like this one, that focus on the life cycle of a marvelous plant that is specific to that ecosystem. What an educational bonanza that would be!
A++++. As a gift idea, a child might enjoy receiving a small cactus with this book.

Cactus Hotel is better than a good book. It’s a marvelous book. It tells, without sentimentalizing it, the story of the life and death of a saguaro cactus. Though it is the story of one plant in nature and how other animals and insects benefit from its gifts, it is a metaphor for living–for all of us. That does not mean the book is heavy or preachy. Far from it. The text is simple in the best sense of that word and lyrical. The illustrations make you feel as if you were in that desert world, living that life. Through its generous time on earth, the cactus is home to, and provides nourishment for, various desert animals–a Gila woodpecker, an elf owl, many others. It uses its span on earth to be exactly what it was meant to be. All of nature is revealed here in its wise splendor–heat, drought, rain, cold, wind, sun. I have read this book to my daughter countless times, and I will continue to read it to her. I think I love it as much–more–than she. The book is poetry. Pure poetry.